“I’m going to make the case that the president’s response needs to be much more vigorous, much more robust and actually consider America’s strategic and national interests in the Middle East more broadly in Syria than some simple few missiles being lobbed into Syria,” Pompeo said. “We need a strategic vision with real, definable and achievable goals, and I’m hopeful that Congress can help the president get there over this next week.”<ref name="syria">[http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/syria-crisis-update-mike-pompeo-96153.html#ixzz2dkY2zoTA ''Politico'', "Mike Pompeo: Need ‘more robust’ Syria plan," accessed September 2, 2013]</ref>

“I’m going to make the case that the president’s response needs to be much more vigorous, much more robust and actually consider America’s strategic and national interests in the Middle East more broadly in Syria than some simple few missiles being lobbed into Syria,” Pompeo said. “We need a strategic vision with real, definable and achievable goals, and I’m hopeful that Congress can help the president get there over this next week.”<ref name="syria">[http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/syria-crisis-update-mike-pompeo-96153.html#ixzz2dkY2zoTA ''Politico'', "Mike Pompeo: Need ‘more robust’ Syria plan," accessed September 2, 2013]</ref>

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===Healthcare===

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====Enrolling in Obamacare====

+

Pompeo announced on September 30, 2013, that he was “going to try to enroll” in Obamacare when the exchanges opened on October 1, 2013, and that he expected it to be “chaos.”<ref name="chaos">[http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/gop-pol-to-enroll-in-obamacare-97560.html ''Politico'', "GOP pol to enroll in Obamacare," accessed September 30, 2013]</ref>

+

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“I’m going to try to enroll tomorrow morning, October 1st. I’m going to go online and try to get enrolled. I wish every one of them good luck. It’s going to be chaos. The president knows that,” Pompeo said.<ref name="chaos"/>

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Pompeo is one of the most reliable Republican votes, meaning he can be considered a safe vote for the Republican Party in Congress.

Biography

Pompeo was born on December 30, 1963, in Orange, CA. He earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated at the top of his class in 1986. He went on to earn his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1994.[2]

2011-2012

Key votes

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[5] For more information pertaining to Pompeo's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[6]

National security

DHS Appropriations

Pompeo voted in favor of HR 2217 - the DHS Appropriations Act (2014) Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 and was largely along party lines.[7]

Keystone Pipeline Amendment

Pompeo voted against House Amendment 69, which would have amended HR 3 to "require that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, conduct a study of the vulnerabilities of the Keystone XL pipeline to a terrorist attack and certify that necessary protections have been put in place." The amendment failed on May 22, 2013, with a vote of 176 - 239 and was largely along party lines.[7]

CISPA (2013)

Pompeo voted in favor of HR 624 - the CISPA (2013). The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill would allow federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities.[8] The bill was largely supported by Republicans, but divided the Democratic Party.[7]

NDAA

Pompeo voted in support of HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.[7]

Economy

Farm bill

On January 29, 2014, the U.S. House approved the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, H.R. 2642, also known as the Farm Bill.[9] The bill passed by a vote of 251-166. The nearly 1,000-page bill reformed and continued various programs of the Department of Agriculture through 2018. The $1 trillion bill expanded crop insurance for farmers by $7 billion over the next decade and created new subsidies for rice and peanut growers that would kick in when prices drop.[10][11] However, cuts to the food stamp program cut an average of $90 per month for 1.7 million people in 15 states.[11] Pompeo voted with 62 other Republicanrepresentatives against the bill.

2014 Budget

On January 15, 2014, the Republican-run House approved H.R. 3547, a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September 30, 2014.[12][13] The House voted 359-67 for the 1,582 page bill, with 64 Republicans and three Democrats voting against the bill.[13] The omnibus package included 12 annual spending bills to fund federal operations.[14] It included a 1 percent increase in the paychecks of federal workers and military personnel, a $1 billion increase in Head Start funding for early childhood education, reduced funding to the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency and protected the Affordable Care Act from any drastic cuts. Pompeo joined with the 63 other Republicans and 3 Democrats who voted against the bill.[12][13]

Government shutdown

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[15] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[16] Pompeo voted to approve the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[17]

The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[18] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Pompeo voted against HR 2775.[19]

Statement on government shutdown

A shutdown solution was signed into law on October 17, 2013, with Pompeo voting against the measure. He released an official statement regarding the shutdown solution:

"Washington has once more kicked the can down the road by raising the limit on the government credit card without dealing with the drivers of our national debt. This means fewer jobs, higher taxes, and ordinary Kansans suffering under the ever-increasing, costly burden of Obamacare that will achieve few, if any, of its goals. Today’s legislation may well have averted the ‘crisis of the moment,’ but it did nothing to avert the much greater crisis that is inevitable with our current rate of spending that we must fix immediately."[20]

Immigration

Morton Memos Prohibition

Pompeo voted in favor of House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States. The vote largely followed party lines.[7]

Healthcare

Healthcare Reform Rules

Pompeo voted in favor of House Amendment 450 - Requires Congressional Approval for Any Rules Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The amendment was adopted by the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 227-185. The amendment requires all changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act be approved by Congress before taking effect. The vote was largely along party lines.[7]

Keep the IRS Off Your Healthcare Act

Pompeo voted in favor of HR 2009 - Keep the IRS Off Your Healthcare Act of 2013. The bill passed through the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 232-185. The bill would prevent the IRS and Treasury Secretary from enforcing the powers provided to them in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The vote largely followed party lines.[7]

Social issues

Amash amendment

Pompeo voted against House Amendment 413 - Prohibits the National Security Agency from Collecting Records Under the Patriot Act. The amendment failed on July 4, 2013, by a vote of 205-217. The amendment would have prohibited the collection of records by the National Security Agency under the Patriot Act. Both parties were split on the vote.[7]

Previous congressional sessions

Fiscal Cliff

Pompeo voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.[24]

Issues

On The Issues Vote Match

On The Issues conducts a VoteMatch analysis of elected officials based on 20 issue areas. Rather than relying on incumbents to complete the quiz themselves, the VoteMatch analysis is conducted using voting records, statements to the media, debate transcripts or citations from books authored by or about the candidate. Based on the results of the quiz, Pompeo is a Libertarian-Leaning Conservative. Pompeo received a score of 25 percent on social issues and 89 percent on economic issues.[25]

On The Issues organization logo.

The table below contains the results of analysis compiled by staff at On The Issues.

Note: Information last updated: 2014.[25] If you notice the rating has changed, email us.

National security

Snowden and SXSW

On March 7, 2014, Pompeo wrote to the organizers of Austin's South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival to ask that they not feature Edward Snowden in a panel on protecting Americans' privacy.[27][28] In the letter, Pompeo asserted that Snowden "committed a treasonous act by stealing secrets and running away from Russia."[27] Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was expected to speak via video-conference to the attendees of South by Southwest Interactive.[28]

American response in Syria

Calling President Barack Obama’s approach to Syria too narrow, Pompeo said on September 2, 2013, that he hoped Congress can persuade the president to strengthen his military plan.[29]

“I understand folks’ skepticism, especially with the way the president has handled this, right? He comes out of the gate and says, ‘We’re going to make this a narrow, limited attack.’ He says, ‘We’re going to fire a shot across the bow.’ I was in the military. You don’t intentionally miss,” Pompeo said on CNN’s “New Day.”

Pompeo, a member of the House Intelligence Committee who was in a classified briefing on the situation in Syria on September 1, 2013, said he was going to lobby fellow members of Congress to authorize the president to do even more in Syria than President Obama is advocating.[29]

“I’m going to make the case that the president’s response needs to be much more vigorous, much more robust and actually consider America’s strategic and national interests in the Middle East more broadly in Syria than some simple few missiles being lobbed into Syria,” Pompeo said. “We need a strategic vision with real, definable and achievable goals, and I’m hopeful that Congress can help the president get there over this next week.”[29]

Healthcare

Enrolling in Obamacare

Pompeo announced on September 30, 2013, that he was “going to try to enroll” in Obamacare when the exchanges opened on October 1, 2013, and that he expected it to be “chaos.”[30]

“I’m going to try to enroll tomorrow morning, October 1st. I’m going to go online and try to get enrolled. I wish every one of them good luck. It’s going to be chaos. The president knows that,” Pompeo said.[30]

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

2012

Pompeo ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Kansas'4th District. Pompeo won the nomination on the Republican ticket and won re-election in the general election.[32] The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run was June 11, 2012. The date was originally set for June 1, but a delay in the redistricting process caused the state to push back the filing deadline.[33]. The primary elections were held on August 7, 2012.

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Pompeo is available dating back to 2010. Based on available campaign finance records, Pompeo raised a total of $4,156,103 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 7, 2013.[36]

2012

Breakdown of the source of Pompeo's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Pompeo won re-election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Pompeo's campaign committee raised a total of $1,915,080 and spent $778,470.[44] This is less than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[45]

PGI: Change in net worth

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Pompeo's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $121,022 and $471,000. That averages to $296,011, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican representatives in 2012 of $6,956,438.47. Pompeo ranked as the 320th most wealthy representative in 2012.[47] Between 2009 and 2012, Pompeo's calculated net worth[48] decreased by an average of 16 percent per year. Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent.[49]

Comparatively, the American citizen experienced a median yearly decline in net worth of -0.94%.[51]

The data used to calculate changes in net worth may include changes resulting from assets gained through marriage, inheritance, changes in family estates and/or trusts, changes in family business ownership and many other variables unrelated to a member's behavior in Congress.

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Pompeo missed 84 of 2,714 roll call votes from January 2011 to July 2014. This amounts to 3.1 percent, which is worse than the median of 2.5 percent among current congressional representatives as of July 2014.[54]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Pompeo paid his congressional staff a total of $873,379 in 2011. He ranked 96th on the list of the lowest paid Republican representative staff salaries and ranked 116th overall of the lowest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Kansas ranked 45th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[55]

↑The questions in the quiz are broken down into two sections -- social and economic. In social questions, liberals and libertarians agree in choosing the less-government answers, while conservatives and populists agree in choosing the more restrictive answers. For the economic questions, conservatives and libertarians agree in choosing the less-government answers, while liberals and populists agree in choosing the more restrictive answers.